It’s the morning after Anything’s Possible made its premiere at Outfest LA that we were able to interview its lead actors, Eva Reign and Abubakr Ali. Coffee in hand, Ali talks about the experience being moving and inspirational, while Reign remarks upon the fun and good energy from the throng of fans gathered on the red carpet and in the theater itself. It absolutely helps that the Emmy, Tony, and Grammy-winning Billy Porter is in attendance, turning looks in a stunning pink Helen Anthony coat dress, and, most significantly, celebrating his debut as a feature-film director.
Written by Ximena García Lecuona, Anything’s Possible is a Gen Z-focused, LGBTQ+ coming-of-age movie that centers around trans high school senior Kelsa (Reign) and Khal (Ali) as they navigate the universal pressures of and larger-than-life questions about preparing for life after graduation. To add to their already-full plate, Kelsa and Khal find themselves dealing with the politics, both social and emotional, and, in some case, the ignorance that arise as a result of their newfound romance. “This is a really vital story because everyone deserves to see what life can look like for them with more love,” says Reign, who makes her feature film debut as an actress. “We’ve seen numerous narratives like this for [cisgender], white, heterosexual people. We haven’t seen many stories like this where there are two non-white people as the starring characters.”
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With a decades-long career on-screen and onstage, Porter is no stranger to the racism, homophobia, and discriminatory bias of the industry, so it makes sense that, sitting in the director’s chair for Anything’s Possible, he would intentionally create opportunities for those who would — and have — also encounter similar obstacles. According to his interview with TIME, Porter was heavily involved with all aspects of the project, from casting actors to hiring creatives, ultimately putting together a team of queer, Black, and brown artists to tell this story. “We have to do it ourselves,” he said. “Our hope, our light has to come from within. Once we do that, nothing can stop us.”
Reign and Ali on Seeing Themselves as Leading Actors
“Now, there’s this trendy phrase called [main character energy], like everyone wants to be that bitch in their life, and I think there’s something to be said about how we can view ourselves based on the media we take in every day,” Reign adds. “If you don’t see yourself as that main [character] in fiction, you also start to think to yourself, ‘Okay, this is how the world sees stories [being] told. Do I even matter?’”
In Reign’s case, per her interview with Them, she was on a plane to Pittsburgh to begin shooting Anything’s Possible, and she still didn’t believe she had gotten the part. “My whole life, I’d wanted to be an actress, but even after I got that call, I was telling myself, ‘I’m a Black trans girl — I’m not going to be the lead in a movie.” When asked if she felt differently now that she completed filming Anything’s Possible, walked its red carpet at a major film festival, and had the chance to work with Porter (who’s been a champion for Black and brown LGBTQ+ folks ever since he first stepped on stage), Reign said, “Now, I do.”
Indeed, having Porter at the helm of Anything’s Possible really did allow Reign and Ali to believe that anything was, well, possible. Both off-camera and on. “Billy’s a joy,” Ali says. “The thing that surprised me, but really made me happy and enjoy the process, is that he’s very much an actor’s director. He has such a fine-tuned eye in relation to each actor’s process and approach, which creates a space for you as an actor [to] take risks, make ridiculous choices, try new things, and be curious.”
